Improvement in post-office letter-boxes



W. H. TAYLUR.

Post-Mice Letter-Boxes.

Patented August 12, 1873.

J A. ,WH 3 OO 4 0. N

UNITED STATES WARREN H. TAYLOR, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT IN POST-OFFICE LETTER-BOXES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. EIL-1,534, dated August 12, 1873; application iiled January 25, 1873.'

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WARREN H. TAYLOR,

of Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and Improved Post-Office LetterBoX; and that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

My invention consists in an improvement in the construction of metallic lock-fronts for post-office boxes, in so constructing the door as to admit, when open, of the easy removal of the glass for cleaning without the removal or unscrewing of any other part of the door or lock. As the doors of post-cnice lock-boxes have heretofore been constructed it has been necessary, in order to take out the glass for the purpose of cleaning it, to remove or unscrew some portion of the door or-lock; and when there are many boxes to be cleaned-as in a large post-office-this process becomes troublesome, tedious, and costly. With my arrangement, however, the glasses can be removed, when the doors are open, instantly, and without the use of tools of any kind.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Figure lis an elevation of a post-office lock-box front with the door closed. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of same, and Fig. Sis an elevation of same with the door open.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the several gures.

A is a flanged metallic frame, securely riveted to the wood-work of the boxes. To this frame is hinged the door B, which contains, in its lower part, an open grating, and, above, the locking device. Behind the grating is a pane of glass, b, which permits the contents of the box to be seen from without.

The accumulation of dust in the interstices of the grating obscures the transparency of the glasses, so that it is necessary to remove it at intervals for cleaning. To admit of its ready removal, I construct the door with a slight beveled rib, a, at its lower edge, just beneath the glass b, and round ofi' the angular corners ofthe glass. The glass being held in place by the elastic washers c o, or any sufiicient elastic pressure, it is obvious that, to remove it from the door, it is only necessary to press inward its lower end sufficiently to raise it clear of the rib a, and to then draw it downward. To replace it, insert the edge of the glass under the washers c o, and push it upward until it snaps into place, where the elastic washers will hold it securely.

It will be evident that so long as the door is closed the glass cannot be removed.

The arrangement which I have described is that which I prefer; but it is obvious that its details may be variously modified without ai'ecting the result attained. The beveled rib a may be at the top, bottom, or side of the glass,

'and the latter may be held in place either by the elastic washers c o, or any suitable elastic pressure bearing against the glass.

In place of the rib a, one or more pins-oi' similar section may be substituted.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination, in a door for postoffice letter-boxes, of a beveled rib or beveled pins with a pane of glass and elastic washers or springs, as and for the purposes described. WARREN H. TAYLOR.'

Witnesses:

HENRY R. TowNE, E. '.I. GREENE.

A'rENr GFFICE. 

